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April 23, 2008

The World Food Crisis and Burkina Faso

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Burkina Faso yesterday, at a time when the country is feeling the heat of the world crisis in food price rises.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the price of essential agricultural staples has gone up by more than 50% over the last six months. Seydou says a 50kg sack of rice in Gorom-Gorom now costs 18,000cfa (about £20).

The Effect on Poorer Nations
As Relief Web explains, when you are already spending between 50 and 80 percent of your income on food, you don't have much room for manoeuver. Poor nations like Burkina Faso have been feeling the effect worst, with price rises in many countries bringing hunger and sparking riots. Kofi Annan warns of increasing instability if the issue is not addressed: "The doubling and tripling of staple food prices in some countries has put many poor people in a desperate situation."

This month, a two-day national strike in Burkina Faso protesting high food prices remained peaceful, following criticism of violence during the protests earlier in the year. VOA reports: "Union leaders in Burkino (sic) Faso acknowledge that the government has taken measures to curb the high cost of living, including a continued suspension of import taxes and a reduction in water and electricity prices. But they say those measures are not enough." They are demanding a 25 percent increase in salaries and pensions backdated to January 2001. But the government says salaries had increased in 2005 and 2007 and increasing them again would fuel inflation.

Causes of the Food Crisis
Grain stocks are at their lowest in 30 years, and we are consuming more than we are producing. Causes of the food price rises have been identified as:

  • Weather. Erratic weather and climate change, leading to crop failures.
  • Population and Diet. The growth in middle-class population (especially in India and China), who then want a richer, meat-rich diet (as in the west), that uses more land. We probably need to eat less meat.
  • Biofuel. An increased focus on biofuel is taking crops meant for poor people's food, and putting them in rich people's cars.
  • Oil prices. High oil prices have increased production, fertiliser, and transport costs.
  • Speculation in Commodities. Following the collapse of financial markets, dealers have been taking money out of equities and mortgage bonds and ploughing them into food and raw materials.

Nancy Roman of the UN World Food Program says: "In the near- and medium-term food prices will be going up, which will bring more hunger. It will be a different kind of hunger. Food shortages in developing countries used to be caused by drought or other similar factors. That’s why people had nothing to eat. Nowadays, most countries have enough food. But it’s so expensive that people cannot afford it."

Please pray for Burkina Faso and our friends there, especially as they try to make ends meet in the run-up to the hardest time of year before the next rainy season starts in July. Thank you.


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Posted by Keith at April 23, 2008 01:32 PM